Control device, control method, and control system

ABSTRACT

A control device that controls a robot capable of self-propelling is provided. The control device comprises: a facility staff member identifying unit configured to identify a position of a facility staff member in a facility; a visitor identifying unit configured to identify a position of a visitor in the facility; and a control unit configured to instruct the robot capable of self-propelling to move. In a case where the control unit determines that the facility staff member that has been identified by the facility staff member identifying unit is absent in a predetermined range near the visitor that has been identified by the visitor identifying unit, the control unit causes the robot to move into the predetermined range.

CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATION(S)

This application claims priority to and the benefit of Japanese PatentApplication No. 2021-042698 filed on Mar. 16, 2021, the entiredisclosure of which is incorporated herein by reference.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION Field of the Invention

The present invention relates to a control device, a control method, anda control system for a robot capable of self-propelling.

Description of the Related Art

Various techniques related to a robot control system using a guide robothave been proposed (Japanese Patent No. 6142306). In the robot controlsystem disclosed in Patent Document 1, a guide robot (communicationrobot), for example, asks visitors requirements, or guides the visitorsin an exhibition hall.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

Here, in order to purchase a predetermined product or receive a service,in a facility where visitors have to wait inside the facility, thevisitors have too much time in the facility, in some cases. For thisreason, for the facility side, it is desirable to appropriately servethe visitors, and there is a demand for a technology by which thefacility side is capable of appropriately serving the visitors with useof guide robots, which are a limited.

The present invention has an object to provide a guide robot thatappropriately serves visitors.

According to one aspect of the present invention, there is provided acontrol device that controls a robot capable of self-propelling, thecontrol device including: a facility staff member identifying unitconfigured to identify a position of a facility staff member; a visitoridentifying unit configured to identify a position of a visitor; and acontrol unit configured to instruct the robot capable of self-propellingto move, in which in a case where the control unit determines that thefacility staff member that has been identified by the facility staffmember identifying unit is absent within a predetermined range near thevisitor that has been identified by the visitor identifying unit, thecontrol unit causes the robot to move into the predetermined range.

In addition, according to one aspect of the present invention, there isprovided a control method performed by a control device that controls arobot capable of self-propelling, the control method including:identifying a position of a facility staff member; identifying aposition of a visitor; and instructing the robot capable ofself-propelling to move, in which in the instructing step, in a casewhere the facility staff member that has been identified by theidentifying step is absent within a predetermined range near the visitorthat has been identified by the identifying step, the robot isinstructed to move into the predetermined range.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 is a schematic configuration diagram of a robot management systemaccording to the present embodiment;

FIG. 2 is a perspective view schematically illustrating a guide robot inFIG. 1;

FIG. 3 is a block diagram illustrating a configuration of a robotmanagement system in FIG. 1;

FIG. 4 is a block diagram illustrating a configuration of a controlserver in FIG. 3;

FIG. 5 is a flowchart illustrating an example of a robot dispatchprocessing performed by the control server;

FIG. 6 is a flowchart illustrating an example of a visitoridentification processing in FIG. 5;

FIG. 7 is a diagram illustrating an example of a table for estimating astate of a visitor;

FIG. 8 is a diagram illustrating a positional relationship between avisitor and a facility staff member; and

FIG. 9 is a flowchart illustrating an example of the robot dispatchprocessing performed by the control server.

DESCRIPTION OF THE EMBODIMENTS

Hereinafter, embodiments will be described in detail with reference tothe attached drawings. Note, the following embodiments are not intendedto limit the scope of the claimed invention, and limitation is not madean invention that requires a combination of all features described inthe embodiments. Two or more of the multiple features described in theembodiments may be combined as appropriate. Furthermore, the samereference numerals are given to the same or similar configurations, andredundant description thereof is omitted.

Hereinafter, a robot management apparatus according to the presentembodiment will be described with reference to FIGS. 1 to 9. The robotmanagement apparatus according to the present embodiment determineswhether it is necessary to dispatch a guide robot to a person that hasbeen detected, based on an in-facility image captured by an imaging unitinstalled in a facility such as a store. For example, in a case wherethe detected person is a guest such as a visitor, and no facility staffmember, store staff member, guide robot, or the like is present in thesurroundings of the detected guest, and it is determined that it isnecessary to serve the guest, the guide robot is dispatched to theguest's location.

In this manner, the guide robot is dispatched to the guest who has to beserved, and communicates with the guest. Therefore, it is possible toprevent the guest from feeling stress since no facility staff member isaware of presence of the guest, or spending too much time waiting.

Examples of the facility using the above-described guide robot mayinclude a store that retails various types of products, art-relatedfacilities such as an art museum, a museum, an art gallery, and agallery, a science museum, a memorial hall, an exhibition, a workshop,and the like. Examples of the store that retails various types ofproducts may include a department store, a supermarket, a specializedstore, and the like. Examples of specialized stores may include variousspecialized dealers and automobile dealers. In addition, in theautomobile dealers, various services other than automobile sales, suchas automobile maintenance and car leasing, are offered. In the followingembodiment, a description will be given with regard to an example inwhich a robot management apparatus is constituted by a control server.Such a control server is installed in an automobile dealer, and a guiderobot arranged in a showroom of the automobile dealer is dispatched to avisitor who comes to the showroom.

FIG. 1 is a schematic configuration diagram of a robot management system100 using a control server 4 constituting a robot management apparatusaccording to an embodiment of the present invention. As illustrated inFIG. 1, in the robot management system 100 using a server device(control server) 4 according to the present embodiment, a guide robot 3capable of self-propelling is arranged in a showroom 1 of an automobiledealer where an exhibition vehicle 2 is exhibited. Then, a visitor whovisits the showroom 1 is identified from in-showroom images captured byeach of a plurality of imaging apparatuses 11 installed on a ceiling 10of the showroom 1. For example, visitors and show room staff members(facility staff members) are respectively identified based on faceimages of the respective visitors who appear in the in-showroom images.In addition, for example, the respective visitors and the show roomstaff members (facility staff members) are identified, based on therespective face images of the plurality of visitors who appear in thein-showroom images.

Furthermore, it is determined whether any showroom staff member ispresent near the visitor from the in-showroom images, and the guiderobot is controlled to move to the visitor's location where no facilitystaff member is present nearby.

For example, as illustrated in FIG. 1, in a case where three visitors A,B, and C visit the showroom 1 in which facility staff members (staff) Dand E are present, the server device 4 identifies the three visitors A,B, and C and the staff members D and E from the in-showroom images thathave been captured by the plurality of imaging apparatuses 11. Forexample, the server device 4 may determine that a person who wearsspecific clothes such as a uniform is a staff member, and the otherpersons are visitors. Then, it is assumed that the staff member D servesthe visitor A and the staff member E serves the visitor B, but no staffmember serves the visitor C.

Here, a description will be given with regard to the guide robot 3 withreference to FIG. 2. FIG. 2 is a perspective view schematicallyillustrating the guide robot 3 constituting the robot management system100 illustrated in FIG. 1. As illustrated in FIG. 2, the guide robot 3is formed in an upright and substantially gourd shape, and an upper partconstitutes a head portion 301, and a lower part constitutes a bodyportion 303 with a narrowed portion 302 as the center. In the guiderobot 3, the head portion 301 is formed to be substantially two headstall (the ratio of the head of the guide robot 3 and total height of theguide robot 3 is substantially 1 to 2) so to be slightly larger than thebody portion 303, and has an attractive and warm shape as a whole. Inthe present embodiment, the guide robot 3 has a height of about 110 cm.

Further, the guide robot 3 has no limbs, and is configured to be movablein any direction by 360 degrees such as front, back, left, right, andoblique directions using a traveling device 304 provided at a lower endof the body portion 303. Note that the description of the specificconfiguration of the traveling device 304 is omitted here. As describedabove, the head portion 301 is slightly larger than the body portion303, and has a shape without limbs, so that the guide robot 3 has, forexample, a shape that a child can easily hold and that easilycommunicates with the child. In addition, the traveling device 304 ofthe guide robot 3 is capable of moving while swinging in afront-and-rear direction and a left-and-right direction, so visitors caneasily notice its approach and the like. The guide robot 3 is capable ofmoving to easily communicate with the visitors.

The head portion 301 of the guide robot 3 is provided with asubstantially elliptical face portion 305 that is long in the horizontaldirection, and the face portion 305 is configured to be capable ofdisplaying an expression of the guide robot 3, a simple character image,and the like. In the present embodiment, a pair of dummy eyes 306representing eyes are displayed on the face portion 305 of the guiderobot 3, and such a pair of dummy eyes 306 are capable of making variousexpressions. For example, the shapes of the pair of dummy eyes 306 arechanged so that the expressions such as delight, anger, sorrow, andpleasure can be made. In the present embodiment, a dummy mouth 307expressing the mouth is further displayed. The shapes of the pair ofdummy eyes 306 and the dummy mouth 307 are changed so that theexpression is easily understandable.

In addition, regarding the guide robot 3, the positions of the pair ofdummy eyes 306 are configured to be movable in the face portion 305. Theguide robot 3 changes the positions of the pair of dummy eyes 306 in theface portion 305 so as to expresses actions of moving its line of sight.The guide robot 3 changes the positions of the pair of dummy eyes 306 infront of a visitor to express the actions of moving its line of sight,and guides the visual line of the visitor. In this situation, the guiderobot 3 is caused to make a rotating action or the like in conjunctionwith the movements of its line of sight, so it becomes easier to guidethe visual line of the visitor.

The guide robot 3 formed as described above is dispatched to thevisitor's location so as to offer simple guidance, such as asking arequirement of a visit, asking the visitor's desire for a drink to beserved, and asking by which facility staff member the visitor desires tobe served. In addition, an image of a visitor is acquired, and it isdetermined that the visitor has visited in the past. Accordingly, thefacility staff member can grasp information on a product that has beensold or a service that has been offered in the past, and the quality inserving by the facility staff member can be improved. In order tosatisfactorily realize the provision of such a robot dispatch guideservice in the automobile dealer, in the present embodiment, the robotmanagement system 100 using the server device 4 to be described below isconfigured.

FIG. 3 is a block diagram illustrating a configuration of a main part ofthe robot management system 100 illustrated in FIG. 1. FIG. 4 is a blockdiagram illustrating a configuration of a main part of the server device4 illustrated in FIG. 3. As illustrated in FIG. 1, the robot managementsystem 100 according to the present embodiment includes the imagingapparatuses 11 installed on the ceiling 10 of the showroom 1 in anautomobile dealer, the guide robot 3 capable of self-propelling andarranged in the showroom 1, and the server device 4 included in theautomobile dealer.

As illustrated in FIG. 3, the imaging apparatus 11, the guide robot 3,and the server device 4 are connected with a communication network 5,such as a wireless communication network, the Internet, or a telephonenetwork. Only one imaging apparatus 11 is illustrated in FIG. 3 forsimplification. However, in fact, a plurality of imaging apparatuses 11are present as illustrated in FIG. 1. Similarly, only one guide robot 3is illustrated in FIG. 3. However, a plurality of guide robots 3 can bearranged.

As illustrated in FIG. 3, the imaging apparatus 11 includes acommunication unit 111, an imaging unit 112, a sensor unit 113, astorage unit 114, and a control unit 115. The communication unit 111 isconfigured to be wirelessly communicable with the server device 4 andthe guide robot 3 through the communication network 5. The imaging unit112 is a camera having an imaging element such as a CCD or a CMOS, andis configured to be capable of imaging a visitor who has come to theshowroom 1. The sensor unit 113 is a sensor such as a moving objectdetection sensor or a human detection sensor, and is configured to becapable of detecting a position and a movement of a visitor who has cometo the showroom 1. A plurality of imaging units 112 and a plurality ofsensor units 113 are arranged on the ceiling 10 of showroom 1 in orderto be capable of imaging and detecting a visitor who visits the showroom1, even when the visitor is present at any position in the showroom 1.

The storage unit 114 includes a volatile or nonvolatile memory, notillustrated. The storage unit 114 stores various programs executed bythe control unit 115, data, and the like. For example, the storage unit114 temporarily stores in-showroom images that have been captured by theimaging unit 112 and the position information on the visitor that hasbeen detected by the sensor unit 113.

The control unit 115 includes a CPU, performs a predeterminedprocessing, based on a signal that has been received from the outside ofthe imaging apparatus 11 via the communication unit 111 and variousprograms and the like stored in the storage unit 114, and outputs apredetermined control signal to the communication unit 111, the imagingunit 112, the sensor unit 113, and the storage unit 114.

For example, the control unit 115 transmits an image that has beencaptured by the imaging unit 112 and a position of a person such as avisitor or a facility staff member that has been detected by the sensorunit 113 to the server device 4 at a predetermined cycle. Alternatively,in response to an imaging instruction from the server device 4, theimaging unit 112 captures an image, the sensor unit 113 detects theposition of the visitor, and transmits the image and positioninformation to the server device 4. This enables the server device 4 toacquire the image in the showroom 1 (in-showroom image). The serverdevice 4 analyzes the in-showroom image, and becomes capable ofrecognizing the visitor and the facility staff member included in theimage that has been acquired.

As illustrated in FIG. 3, the guide robot 3 includes, as a functionalconfiguration, a communication unit 31, an input unit 32, an output unit33, an imaging unit 34, a traveling unit 35, a sensor unit 36, a storageunit 37, and a control unit 38. The communication unit 31 is configuredto be wirelessly communicable with the server device 4 and the imagingapparatus 11 through the communication network 5. The input unit 32includes various switch buttons (not illustrated) that can be operatedat the time of maintenance or the like, a microphone (not illustrated)capable of inputting voices of a visitor, and the like.

The output unit 33 includes a speaker (not illustrated) capable ofoutputting sound, and a display unit 331 capable of displaying an image.The display unit 331 constitutes the above-described face portion 305 ofthe guide robot 3, and the above-described pair of dummy eyes 306,character images, and the like are displayed on the display unit 331. Itis only necessary if the display unit 331 is configured to be capable ofdisplaying the pair of dummy eyes 306, a character image, and the like.The display unit 331 is configured with, for example, a liquid crystalpanel, a projector, a screen, or the like.

The imaging unit 34 is a camera including an imaging element such as aCCD or a CMOS, and is configured to be capable of imaging a visitor whohas come to the showroom 1. The imaging unit 34 is provided, forexample, on the head portion 301 of the guide robot 3. The provision ofthe imaging unit 34 on the head portion 301 facilitates imaging thevisitor's face. In addition, the imaging unit 34 is preferably providednear the pair of dummy eyes 306 of the guide robot 3 in terms of imagingthe visitor's face.

The traveling unit 35 is configured with the above-described travelingdevice 304 that causes the guide robot 3 to self-propel. The travelingunit 35 includes a battery and a motor, and is configured to drive themotor with electricity of the battery and to travel. The traveling unit35 can be configured with a known electric technique. The sensor unit 36includes various sensors including a sensor that detects a travelingstate and a stop state of the guide robot 3, such as a traveling speedsensor, an acceleration sensor, and a gyro sensor, and a sensor thatdetects a surrounding situation of the guide robot 3, such as anobstacle sensor, a human detection sensor, and a moving object sensor.

The storage unit 37 includes a volatile or nonvolatile memory, notillustrated. The storage unit 37 stores various programs executed by thecontrol unit 38, various data, and the like. In addition, the storageunit 37 temporarily stores data and the like regarding contents forserving visitors. For example, the visitor's requirement that has beenasked by the guide robot 3, the explanation to the visitor that has beengiven by the guide robot 3, and the like are temporarily stored.

The storage unit 37 stores a showroom database 371 and a communicationdatabase 372, as an example of a functional configuration achieved by amemory. For example, data corresponding to the arrangement of theexhibition vehicle 2, a table, and the like arranged in the showroom 1is stored in the showroom database 371. The showroom database 371 isreferred to, when the guide robot 3 moves in the showroom. Thecommunication database 372 stores data and the like corresponding to avoice recognition processing or a voice output processing for the guiderobot 3 to communicate with the visitor. The communication database 372is referred to, when the guide robot 3 communicates with the visitor.

The control unit 38 includes a CPU, performs a predetermined processing,based on a signal that has been received from the outside of the guiderobot 3 via the communication unit 31, a signal that has been input viathe input unit 32, a signal that has been detected by the sensor unit36, various programs and data stored in the storage unit 37, and outputsa predetermined control signal to the communication unit 31, the outputunit 33, the imaging unit 34, the traveling unit 35, and the storageunit 37.

For example, the control unit 38 outputs a control signal to thetraveling unit 35 and the storage unit 37, based on the signal that hasbeen received from the server device 4 via the communication unit 31 andthe signal that has been detected by the sensor unit 36. With thisprocessing performed by the control unit 38, the guide robot 3 isdispatched to the visitor's location. Further, for example, the controlunit 38 outputs a control signal to the imaging unit 34 and thecommunication unit 31, based on the signal that has been received fromthe server device 4 via the communication unit 31. With this processingperformed by the control unit 38, an image of the visitor's face iscaptured, and the captured face image is transmitted to the serverdevice 4.

Further, for example, the control unit 38 outputs a control signal tothe output unit 33 (the display unit 331), based on the signal that hasbeen received from the server device 4 via the communication unit 111.With this processing performed by the control unit 38, the expression ofthe guide robot 3 is changed, or the line of sight of the pair of dummyeyes 306 are changed. Further, for example, the control unit 38 outputsa control signal to the output unit 33 and the storage unit 37, based ona signal that has been received via the input unit 32. With thisprocessing performed by the control unit 38, the guide robot 3 becomescapable of communicating with the visitor.

As illustrated in FIG. 4, the server device 4 includes a communicationunit 41, an input unit 42, an output unit 43, a storage unit 44, and acontrol unit 45. The server device 4 can be configured with use of avirtual server function on a cloud, or can be configured by distributingthe functions.

The communication unit 41 is configured to be wirelessly communicablewith the imaging apparatus 11 and the guide robot 3 through thecommunication network 5 (see FIG. 3). The input unit 42 includes variousswitches that can be operated by the user, such as a touch panel and akeyboard, a microphone that can input voices, and the like. Note that inthe present embodiment, the user mentioned here is a store clerk(facility staff member) of the automobile dealer. The output unit 43includes, for example, a monitor capable of displaying characters andimages, a speaker capable of outputting sound, and the like.

The storage unit 44 includes a volatile or nonvolatile memory, notillustrated. The storage unit 44 stores various programs executed by thecontrol unit 45, various data, and the like. The storage unit 44includes a guide robot database (DB) 441, a showroom DB 442, a visitorDB 443, and a facility staff member DB 444, as functional configurationsachieved by the memory.

The guide robot DB 441 stores basic information, maintenanceinformation, and the like, regarding the guide robot 3, such as a robotID of the guide robot 3 used for the robot dispatch guide service. Theshowroom DB 442 stores data corresponding to the arrangements of theexhibition vehicle 2, the table, and the like arranged in the showroom1. Note that the showroom database 442 has a configuration similar tothat of the showroom database 371 stored in the storage unit 37 includedin the guide robot 3, and either one may be included. Further, theshowroom DB 442 stores the positions and orientations of the imagingapparatuses 11 arranged in the showroom 1.

The visitor DB 443 stores visitor information about the visitor whovisits the showroom 1. The visitor information includes a face image ofthe visitor, a visit history, and the like, in addition to basicinformation about the visitor such as address, name, age, occupation,and gender of the visitor. The visit history includes chatting beforepurchase negotiation and the like, in addition to contents of thepurchase negotiation at the time of visit.

In addition, the visitor DB 443 may store a visiting flag indicating avisitor who has visited the showroom 1 and information indicating astaying time in the showroom 1. In one example, a visitor or a facilitystaff member inputs information about a requirement for every visitorvia the guide robot 3 or an external device at a reception or the like.Accordingly, information indicating the staying time in the showroom 1can be acquired. In addition, in a case where a visitor visits in avisitor group, the visitor DB 443 may store the visitor in associationwith the visitor group. For example, in a case where a visitor visits ina family group, such a visitor can be stored in association with thefamily group, and in a case where the visitor visits in a friend group,such a visitor can be stored in association with the friend group. Asdescribed above, the visitor belongs to a plurality of groups, in somecases, and a visitor map may be created in the visitor DB 443.

The control unit 45 includes a processor such as a CPU, performs apredetermined processing based on a signal that has been received viathe input unit 42, a signal that has been received from the outside ofthe server device 4 via the communication unit 41, various programs,various data, and the like stored in the storage unit 44, and outputs acontrol signal to the communication unit 41, the output unit 43, and thestorage unit 44.

As illustrated in FIG. 4, the control unit 45 includes, an in-facilityimage acquisition unit 451, a robot image acquisition unit 452, a robotvisual line instruction unit 453, a visitor identifying unit 454, afacility staff member identifying unit 455, a state estimation unit 456,and a robot movement instruction unit 457, as functional configurationsachieved by the processor.

The in-facility image acquisition unit 451 acquires the in-showroomimages that have been captured by the plurality of imaging apparatuses11 installed in the showroom 1. Specifically, the in-facility imageacquisition unit 451 receives inputs of data of images (including astill image and a moving image) inside the showroom 1 (a space where theexhibition vehicle 2 is exhibited) that has been captured by theplurality of imaging apparatuses 11 via the communication unit 41. Inthe present embodiment, the in-facility image acquisition unit 451causes the plurality of imaging apparatuses 11 to respectively capturein-showroom images, and acquires the in-showroom images that have beencaptured. Specifically, the in-facility image acquisition unit 451outputs control signals for respectively causing the plurality ofimaging apparatuses 11 to image the showroom 1 via the communicationunit 41, and receive inputs of data of the in-showroom images that havebeen respectively captured by the plurality of imaging apparatuses 11via the communication unit 41.

The robot image acquisition unit 452 acquires an image including a faceimage of the visitor that has been captured by the guide robot 3arranged in the showroom 1. Specifically, the robot image acquisitionunit 452 receives inputs of data of images (including a still image anda moving image) including the face image of the visitor that has beencaptured by the guide robot 3 via the communication unit 41. In thepresent embodiment, the robot image acquisition unit 452 causes theguide robot 3 to capture an image of the visitor's face, and acquires animage including the face image that has been captured. Specifically, therobot image acquisition unit 452 outputs a control signal for causingthe guide robot 3 to image the visitor's face via the communication unit41, and receives inputs of the data of images including the face imageof the visitor that has been captured by the guide robot 3 via thecommunication unit 41.

The robot visual line instruction unit 453 instructs the directions ofthe line of sight of the pair of dummy eyes 306, of the guide robot 3.Specifically, the robot visual line instruction unit 453 outputs acontrol signal for instructing the positions and movements of the pairof dummy eyes 306 of the guide robot 3 to the guide robot 3 via thecommunication unit 41.

Upon reception of an input of the control signal via the communicationunit 31, the guide robot 3 controls the display unit 331, based on thecontrol signal that has been input to change the positions of the pairof dummy eyes 306. That is, the guide robot 3 moves its visual line.When the guide robot 3 moves its visual line, the visitor follows thevisual line of the guide robot 3, and looks at the direction of thevisual line of the guide robot 3. As described above, the guide robot 3moves its visual line, and is capable of guiding the visual line of thevisitor to encourage a change in the position or the posture of thevisitor. For example, the visual line of the guide robot 3 is directedto an imaging apparatus 11, so that the visual line of the visitor canbe directed to the imaging apparatus 11. Then, when the visitor looks atthe imaging apparatus 11, the imaging apparatus 11 is capable ofcapturing the visitor's face.

The visitor identifying unit 454 identifies a visitor who has visitedthe showroom 1 from the in-showroom image that has been acquired by thein-facility image acquisition unit 451. For example, the visitoridentifying unit 454 extracts a person from the in-showroom image, andfurther extracts (recognizes) a face image from the person that has beenextracted. Then, the visitor identifying unit 454 searches the visitordata stored in the visitor database 443 for visitor data having a faceimage that matches the face image that has been extracted, andidentifies the visitor. In a case where there is no visitor data havingthe face image that matches the face image that has been extracted, theface image is stored in the visitor database 443 as a new visitor.

In addition, in a case where the visitor identifying unit 454 cannotextract (recognize) the face image from the person that has beenextracted from the in-showroom image, and determines that the visitor isunidentifiable, the visitor identifying unit 454 outputs a controlsignal to the robot movement instruction unit 457. Upon reception of aninput of the control signal, the robot movement instruction unit 457instructs the guide robot 3 to move so that the guide robot 3 isdispatched to such a person's location. Then, the robot imageacquisition unit 452 causes the guide robot 3 to capture an image ofsuch a person's face. The image including a face image of such a personthat has been captured by the guide robot 3 is input into the robotimage acquisition unit 452 via the communication unit 41, and thevisitor identifying unit 454 identifies the visitor in a similar methodas described above by using the face image of the person that has beeninput into the robot image acquisition unit 452.

In addition, the visitor identifying unit 454 identifies the position ofa person that has been extracted from the in-showroom image. Forexample, the control server 4 may store the position and an imagingrange of the imaging apparatus 11 arranged in the facility in theshowroom DB 442, and may identify the position of the visitor based onthe in-showroom image and the position and the imaging range of theimaging apparatus 11 that has captured the image. Alternatively, aperson may be detected, based on sensor information that has beenacquired from the sensor unit 113 of the imaging apparatus 11, andwhether the person who has been detected is a visitor may be determined,based on the in-showroom image that has been acquired from the imagingunit 112 of the imaging apparatus 11.

The facility staff member identifying unit 455 performs, for example, animage recognition processing on the in-showroom image that has beenacquired from the imaging apparatus 11, and detects that a facilitystaff member appears in the in-showroom image. For example, the controlserver 4 may determine which facility staff member is the person whoappears in the in-showroom image, based on the face image of thefacility staff member stored in the facility staff member DB 444.Alternatively, the facility staff member identifying unit 455 maydetermine whether the person who appears in the in-showroom image is afacility staff member, based on a predetermined marker such as a uniformor an accessory of the facility staff member. Note that, similarly tothe visitor identifying unit 454, the facility staff member identifyingunit 455 may detect a person, based on the sensor information that hasbeen acquired from the sensor unit 113, and may determine whether theperson who has been detected is a facility staff member, based on thein-showroom image that has been acquired from the imaging unit 112.

Further, in a case where the facility staff member carries atransmitter, the facility staff member identifying unit 455 may acquireposition information on the transmitter or signal intensity of areference signal that has been transmitted from the transmitter from aplurality of receivers (not illustrated) provided in the facility, andmay identify the position of the facility staff member.

The state estimation unit 456 estimates a state of the visitor that hasbeen identified by the visitor identifying unit 454, including avisitor's emotion. For example, the visitor's emotion such as smiling,being angry, or the like is estimated, based on the face image of thevisitor that has been acquired from at least one of the imagingapparatus 11 and the guide robot 3. Further, the state estimation unit456 detects that the visitor is taking a gesture such as looking aroundor acting restless, based on the moving image of the visitor, andestimates that the visitor is in a state of needing to be served, suchas anxiety or anger. Further, the state estimation unit 456 detects thata remaining amount of a drink held by the visitor is small, andestimates that the visitor is thirsty, that is, the drink isadditionally needed.

The emotion of each visitor can be estimated based on the gesture,behavior, or the like of the visitor. For example, the visitor's emotionis estimated from the face image of the visitor that has been extractedfrom the in-showroom image, the action of the visitor, or the like. Forexample, when the visitor has an angry face, looks around, is actingrestless, or the like, it is estimated that the visitor is in a badmood. On the other hand, when the visitor has a joyful look or when thevisitors are making conversation with each other, it is estimated thatthe visitor is in a good mood.

The robot movement instruction unit 457 instructs the guide robot 3 tomove so that the guide robot 3 is dispatched to the visitor's place,based on a positional relationship between the visitor and the facilitystaff member that has been identified by the visitor identifying unit454 and the facility staff member identifying unit 455. Specifically,the robot movement instruction unit 457 transmits, via the communicationunit 41 to the guide robot 3, control information including informationabout a movement route on which the guide robot 3 should move. Theinformation about the movement route may include information about adestination of the guide robot 3 and information about an action of theguide robot 3, such as traveling straight, and rotating to the right by30 degrees.

In this situation, upon reception of an instruction to stay on the spotwhile moving on the movement route that has been instructed by thecontrol server 4, the robot movement instruction unit 457 stops movingon the movement route and stays on the spot. This enables the guiderobot 3 to move to near the visitor who is in a bad mood or needs to beserved, and to communicate with the visitor, so it becomes possible toprevent the visitor's emotion from getting worse.

Further, when the visitor identifying unit 454 determines that thevisitor is unidentifiable, based on the in-showroom image, the robotmovement instruction unit 457 instructs the guide robot 3 to move to thevisitor's location so as to dispatch the guide robot 3 to the visitorwho has been determined to be unidentifiable. For example, uponreception of an input of a control signal, indicating that the visitoris unidentifiable, output from the visitor identifying unit 454, therobot movement instruction unit 457 instructs the guide robot 3 to moveto near the person that has been extracted from the in-showroom image bythe visitor identifying unit 454 so as to dispatch the guide robot 3.This makes it possible to collect an image of an unidentifiable visitor,to identify a visitor, based on a newly acquired image, or to collectimage data of a visitor who has visited for the first time. In thiscase, the robot movement instruction unit 457 instructs the guide robot3 to conduct an action of encouraging the visitor who has beendetermined unidentifiable to change the position or the posture so thatthe visitor becomes identifiable from the in-showroom image to beacquired by the in-facility image acquisition unit 451. For example, therobot movement instruction unit 457 instructs the guide robot 3 to moveso that the visitor who has been determined unidentifiable takes aposition or a posture facing the imaging apparatus 11.

Further, the robot visual line instruction unit 453 instructs directionsof the pair of dummy eyes 306 of the guide robot 3, so that the visualline of the visitor can be guided to encourage the visitor to change theposition or the posture. For example, it is preferable to take an actionof moving the directions of the line of sight of the pair of dummy eyes306 toward the imaging apparatus 11, so that the visual line of thevisitor is guided toward the imaging apparatus 11. In this situation,for example, the robot movement instruction unit 457 causes the guiderobot 3 to make a rotating action or the like in conjunction with themovements of the line of sight, so that it becomes easier to guide thevisual line of the visitor.

In addition, the robot visual line instruction unit 453 controls thepair of dummy eyes 306 of the guide robot 3 to look at the direction ofthe visitor's face that has been detected by the imaging unit 34, sothat the visitor can feel as if the visitor makes eye contact with theguide robot 3. Accordingly, even when the visitor's face moves duringthe conversation between the visitor and the guide robot 3, it ispossible to follow the dummy eyes 306 of the guide robot 3, and thevisitor can feel relieved, because the guide robot 3 is listening to thevisitor.

First Example

FIG. 5 is a flowchart illustrating an example of a guide robot dispatchprocessing performed by the control unit 45 of the server device 4 inFIG. 3. FIG. 6 is a flowchart illustrating an example of a visitoridentification processing performed by the control unit 45 of the serverdevice 4 in FIG. 3. FIG. 7 is a diagram illustrating an example of atable in which a user state used in processing of specifying the stateof the visitor and a score indicating a necessity for serving areassociated with each other. FIG. 8 is a diagram illustrating an exampleof a positional relationship between the visitors and the facility staffmembers. The processing illustrated in FIG. 5 is started, for example,when the showroom 1 is opened, and is performed at predetermined timeintervals until the showroom 1 is closed.

As illustrated in FIG. 5, first, step S1 (referred to as S1. Subsequentprocessing steps will be referred to in a similar manner), thein-facility image acquisition unit 451 transmits imaging instructionsrespectively to the plurality of imaging apparatuses 11 installed in theshowroom 1, causes the imaging apparatuses 11 to capture the images inthe showroom, and acquires the in-showroom images. In this case, theshowroom image and the identifier of the imaging apparatus 11 that hascaptured the image are acquired together.

Next, in S2, the position of a facility staff member is identified. Forexample, in S2, by calculating the similarity between the face image ofthe person who appears in the in-showroom image acquired in S1 and theface image of the facility staff member stored in the facility staffmember DB 444, it is possible to determine in which image the facilitystaff member appears. Alternatively, by comparing an image of a personwho appears in the in-showroom image with an image of a marker of afacility staff member such as clothes or an accessory, it is possible todetermine in which image the facility staff member appears. In addition,the position of the facility staff member is determined, based on theimaging apparatus 11 that has captured the image in which the facilitystaff member appears and the position and the orientation of thefacility staff member. Note that, as described above, in a case wherethe facility staff member carries the transmitter, the position of thefacility staff member may be determined without use of the image thathas been acquired by the imaging apparatus 11.

Note that, when the position of the facility staff member is identifiedin S2, based on the in-showroom image, the facility staff memberidentifying unit 455 may also identify the direction of the facilitystaff member's face. Accordingly, it is possible to identify whichvisitor the facility staff member is serving.

Subsequently, in S3, the server device 4 identifies the position of thevisitor, based on the in-showroom image acquired in S1. For example, inS3, by comparing the face image of the person who appears in thein-showroom image acquired in S1 with the face image of the visitorstored in the visitor DB 443, it is possible to determine in which imagethe facility staff member appears.

In S3, as illustrated in FIG. 6, first in S31, the visitor identifyingunit 454 performs processing of extracting a person present in thefacility from the in-showroom image acquired in S1. Here, the imagingapparatus 11 corresponding to the in-showroom image from which theperson is extracted is identified. Next, in S32, the control server 4acquires the face image of the visitor from the visitor DB 443. In oneexample, profile information such as gender or age of the visitor may beacquired in S32. That is, in S32, visitor information with which thevisitor is identifiable is acquired. Next, in S33, which visitor islocated at which position is identified from the visitor informationacquired in S32 and the in-showroom image acquired in S31. For example,it is possible to identify which position the person is located from theimaging apparatus 11 that has captured the in-showroom image from whichthe person has been detected and the orientation of the imagingapparatus 11. In addition, by calculating the similarity between theface image of the person in the in-showroom image and the face imageincluded in the visitor information in the image processing, it ispossible to determine that the visitor of the face image having thehighest similarity is present in the showroom.

Note that in a case where the face image of the person cannot beextracted from the in-showroom image, only the position of the visitormay be identified. The guide robot 3 may be instructed to move to theposition, and the face image of the visitor may be acquired from theimaging unit 34 of the guide robot 3, so that the visitor may beidentified, based on the face image that has been received from theguide robot 3.

In S3, the visitor identifying unit 454 may also identify theorientation of the face of the visitor that has been identified. Thisenables acquisition of the direction on which the visitor is focusing.

Note that, in a case where the server device 4 recognizes that aspecific visitor is present in the facility through the reception or thelike, a face image of the visitor recognized to be present in thefacility may be extracted beforehand, and the image that has beenacquired by the imaging apparatus 11 may be compared with the face imageof the visitor that has been extracted. This enables identification ofthe visitor at high speed.

Subsequently, in S4, the server device 4 identifies a visitor who is notserved by any facility staff member from the positional relationshipbetween the facility staff member and the visitor identified in S2, anddetermines to move the guide robot to the visitor's location as amovement destination. Here, with reference to an example of thepositional relationship between facility staff members and visitorsillustrated in FIG. 8, a description will be given with regard toprocessing of identifying a visitor who is not served by any facilitystaff member.

In FIG. 8, six visitors 801, 802, 803, 804, 805, and 806, facility staffmembers 811, 812, and 813, and guide robots 821 and 822 are present in afacility.

Here, the facility staff member 811 is talking with the visitors 801 and802, the facility staff member 812 is talking with the visitor 803, thefacility staff member 813 is talking with the visitor 804, and the guiderobot 821 is guiding the visitor 805.

In this case, any of the facility staff members 811 to 813 and the guiderobot 821 is located within each of predetermined ranges of the visitors801 to 805 respectively indicated by dotted lines. In this manner, byidentifying the positions of the visitors, the facility staff members,and the guide robots, it is possible to detect that neither the facilitystaff member nor the guide robot is serving the visitor 806. Therefore,the control server 4 is capable of determining the guide robot 822 to bedispatched to the visitor 806. Note that the predetermined range may bea circle with a radius of three meters or so with the visitor as thecenter, or may be on the visual line of the visitor with a distance offive meters or less from the visitor. The predetermined range can beoptionally set for each system.

Note that, in a case where there are a plurality of visitors with nofacility staff member present nearby, the guide robot 3 may sequentiallymove to near the plurality of visitors. Accordingly, one guide robot 3is capable of serving a plurality of visitors. In such a case, thecontrol server 4 may instruct the guide robot 3 to move to a visitor'slocation, which is close to the position of the guide robot 3.Alternatively, in a case where a waiting time of the visitor, such as aremaining required time that takes until a product or a service isprovided to each visitor or a staying time after the visitor visits thefacility, can be acquired from the visitor DB 443 of the control server4, a control signal may be transmitted so that the guide robot 3 movesto the visitor's locations successively in accordance with a longerwaiting time. Accordingly, the guide robot 3 is capable ofpreferentially serving a visitor with a longer staying time or a visitorestimated to wait for a long time from now on, so that it is possible toprevent the visitors from feeling uncomfortable due to the length of thestaying time.

Subsequently, in S5, the robot movement instruction unit 457 transmits acontrol signal to the guide robot 822 so that the guide robot 822 movesinto a predetermined range near the visitor. In one example, the controlsignal includes a movement destination of the guide robot, that is,position information on a visitor who should be served. In anotherexample, the control signal includes movement route information on theguide robot 822 including a section that is the predetermined range nearthe visitor.

Note that the guide robot 3 does not need to stop near the visitor. Thecontrol server 4 may perform the subsequent processing in S6 to S9 whilethe guide robot 3 is passing near the visitor. This prevents the visitorfrom feeling an intimidated due to the guide robot 3 stopping near thevisitor.

Note that in S5, the control server 4 may instruct the guide robot tocapture an image by the imaging unit 34 at predetermined time intervalsand to transmit the image to the control server 4. This enablesestimation of the emotion of the visitor, as will be described later inS7 and subsequent steps, even while the guide robot 3 is moving.

Subsequently, in S6, the control server 4 determines whether the guiderobot 3 has moved to the predetermined range near the visitor. Forexample, during the processing in S6, the control server 4 continuouslyacquires the position in the showroom of the guide robot 3, andcalculates a distance to the position of the visitor identified in S3,so as to be capable of determining whether the guide robot 3 has movedto near the visitor. The predetermined range near the visitor may be,for example, a predetermined range within three meters from the visitor,or may be a range within five meters from the visitor and in which thevisitor's face can be captured by the imaging unit 34.

When it is determined that the guide robot 3 has moved to near thevisitor (Yes in S6), the control server 4 advances the processing to S7,and causes the imaging unit 34 of the guide robot 3 to capture an imageof the visitor. Accordingly, even in a case where the visitor isunidentifiable from the in-showroom image that has been acquired fromthe imaging apparatus 11, the image in which the visitor appears can beacquired at a closer distance, so that the accuracy of visitoridentification by the control server 4 can be improved.

Subsequently, the control server 4 advances the processing to S8, andestimates the state of the visitor, based on the image that has beenacquired by the guide robot 822. The image acquired in S8 may be a stillimage or a moving image.

For example, in S8, the state of the visitor may be estimated, based onthe expression of the visitor such as a grimace face or a smiling face,or the state of the visitor may be estimated, based on a predeterminedgesture such as folding arms or shaking legs. This enables the controlserver 4 to determine that it is necessary for the guide robot 822 orthe facility staff member to serve quickly, so that the service can besmoothly provided before the visitor feels uncomfortable.

Further, for example, in S8, the control server 4 may specify theremaining amount of the food or the drink that has been provided to thevisitor. For example, in an automobile dealer or the like, a light mealsuch as a drink or a snack is provided to the visitor, in some cases,until the facility staff member serves or while the visitor is waitingfor the service such as vehicle inspections. In such a case, after thevisitor had the drink, the visitor may feel like having more drink.Therefore, the control server 4 specifies the remaining amount of thedrink of the visitor, based on the image that has been acquired from theguide robot 3, so that the control server 4 can determine whether it isnecessary to additionally provide the drink to the visitor.

Next, the control server 4 advances the processing to S9, and determineswhether the guide robot 3 has to serve the visitor.

For example, it is determined whether the remaining amount of the drinkof the visitor specified in S8 is smaller than a predeterminedthreshold. Alternatively, it is determined whether the visitor islooking around. In such a case, it is possible for the guide robot 3 toreceive a request for more drink or to provide information aboutsomething in which the visitor is interested. Therefore, it is possibleto determine that the guide robot 3 needs to serve the visitor. On theother hand, when the visitor is smiling or operating a smartphone, it isdetermined that the guide robot 3 does not need to serve the visitor.

In one example, in S8, the necessity of serving the visitor may be setbeforehand as a numerical value for every expression or gesture of thevisitor, the numerical values may be summed up in accordance with theexpression or gesture of the visitor, and it may be determined that thevisitor needs to be served when the sum exceeds a threshold.

FIG. 7 illustrates an example of a table of user's states and scoresrespectively indicating the necessities of serving associated with theuser's states. The table illustrated in FIG. 7 is stored in the storageunit 44 of the control server 4. In the example of FIG. 7, in a case ofsmiling, talking, making a phone call, or operating a smartphone, it isbetter for the guide robot 3 not to serve. Therefore, the necessity ofserving takes a negative value. On the other hand, in a case of cryingwith tears, looking around, shaking legs, having a remaining amount ofthe drink equal to or smaller than the threshold, or having an angryface, it is better for the guide robot 3 to serve the visitor.Therefore, the necessity of serving takes a positive value. Among theseitems, when the sum of the items corresponding to the visitor is 10 ormore, it may be determined that the visitor needs to be served. Notethat the user's states and scores illustrated in FIG. 7 and thethreshold used for determining that the visitor needs to be served canbe appropriately set in accordance with the type of facility and theservice to be provided.

When it is determined that the guide robot 3 needs to serve (Yes in S9),the control server 4 advances the processing to S10, and instructs theguide robot 3 to serve the matter that has been determined that theguide robot 3 needs to serve. For example, the dummy eyes 306 displayedon the display unit of the guide robot 3 can be displayed so as to payattention to the drink of the visitor. This makes it possible toencourage the visitor to have more drink. In this case, the controlserver 4 may reproduce audio guidance such as “would you like somethingmore to drink?” from a speaker (not illustrated) of the output unit 33of the guide robot 3. Accordingly, the guide robot 3 knows that theremaining amount of the drink of the visitor has become small, and iscapable of encouraging the visitor to have more drink.

In addition, in a case where the control server 4 determines in S9 thatthe guide robot needs to serve because the visitor is looking around,the dummy eyes 306 displayed on the display unit of the guide robot 3may be displayed to pay attention to the visitor, and voices such as“can I help you with something?” may be reproduced from a speaker (notillustrated) of the output unit 33.

On the other hand, in a case where the control server 4 determines thatthe guide robot 3 does not need to serve (No in S9), the control server4 advances the processing to S10, and transmits a control signal to movethe guide robot 3 from the predetermined range near the visitor.

As described above, according to the present embodiment, the controlserver instructs the guide robot to move to the visitor's location whereno facility staff member is present in the surroundings, so that it ispossible to grasp the situation of the visitor who cannot be seen by thefacility staff member. In addition, it is possible to prevent thevisitor from feeling unnoticed without being served. Accordingly, thevisitor can stay in the facility comfortably.

Furthermore, according to the present embodiment, the guide robotcaptures an image of the visitor after moving to near the visitor. Thisenables determination that it is necessary to offer more drink to thevisitor or to determine that the visitor feels uncomfortable.

Second Example

In the first example, the description has been given with regard to theprocessing of dispatching the guide robot to a visitor without anyfacility staff member present in the surroundings. However, even in acase where no facility staff member is present near the visitor but thevisitor desires to be served, the visor may not desire to communicatewith the guide robot in some cases. In a second example, a descriptionwill be given with regard to processing of determining whether the guiderobot should interfere with a visitor, based on an image of the visitorthat has been captured by the guide robot.

Note that descriptions of the processing, configuration, and functionsimilar to those in the first example will be omitted.

FIG. 9 illustrates processing according to the second example. Note thatthe processing in S1 to S8 is similar to those in the first example, andthus the descriptions will be omitted.

In S81, the control server 4 estimates a visitor's response to the guiderobot 3, based on the image of the visitor captured in S7. For example,the visual line of the visitor is estimated, based on the image acquiredin S7, and it is determined whether the guide robot 3 is located on thevisual line of the visitor.

Subsequently, in S9, it is determined whether the visitor needs to beserved. In a case where it is determined that the visitor needs to beserved, the control server 4 advances the processing to S91, anddetermines whether the response to the guide robot is favorable.

For example, in a case where it is determined in S81 that the guiderobot 3 is located on the visual line of the visitor, it is determinedthat the visitor is interested in the guide robot 3, it is determinedthat the reaction is favorable, and the processing proceeds to S10.Alternatively, in a case where it is determined that the guide robot 3is located on the visual line of the visitor and the visitor'sexpression is a smiling face, it is determined that the response isfavorable, and the processing proceeds to S10. In another example, in acase where the guide robot 3 is located on the visual line of thevisitor and it is determined that the visitor is talking to the guiderobot 3, it is determined that the reaction is favorable, and theprocessing may proceed to S10.

On the other hand, in a case where it is determined in S81 that theguide robot 3 is not located on the visual line of the visitor, it isdetermined that the visitor is not interested in the guide robot 3, itis determined that the reaction is not favorable, and the processingproceeds to S11. Alternatively, in a case where it is determined in S81that the guide robot 3 is not located on the visual line of the visitor,and the visitor is continuously talking with another visitor oroperating a smartphone even when the guide robot 3 is present near thevisitor, it is determined that the reaction is not favorable, and theprocessing proceeds to S11. In another example, even in a case where itis determined in S81 that the guide robot 3 is located on the visualline of the visitor, when it is determined that the visitor's expressionis of anger or a grimacing face, it is determined that the reaction isnot favorable, and the processing proceed to S11.

This enables the guide robot 3 to avoid serving the visitor, in a casewhere the visitor desires to be served by a facility staff memberinstead of the guide robot 3.

Subsequently, in S10, in a case where the visitor DB 443 of the storageunit 44 stores information with which the required time for providing aproduct or a service can be specified, the control server 4 may transmitthe information to the guide robot 3 to notify the visitor of theremaining required time via the display unit 331 or the speaker. Thisenables the visitor to know the remaining required time, so the anxietyof the visitor can be mitigated.

As described above, according to the present embodiment, with use of theguide robot 3, which is a limited one, appropriately serving thevisitors who visit the showroom 1 in the automobile dealer is achieved.For example, the guide robot 3 is dispatched to the location of avisitor who has been kept waiting for a long time and is in a bad moodso as to communicate with the visitor. Accordingly, it is possible tomake the visitor become in a good mood or to prevent the visitor fromgetting in a worse mood. Accordingly, after that, it is possible forbusiness people of the automobile dealer (for example, a sales person)to smoothly serve the visitor in business negotiation or the like.

In addition, for example, in a case where a large number of the guiderobots 3 are arranged in the showroom 1, visitors may feel intimidated,and the costs of the automobile dealer increase. However, the guiderobot 3 is dispatched to the visitor who is not served by any facilitystaff member, so as to enable efficient communication with use of theguide robot 3, which is a limited one.

In addition, for example, it is possible to cause the guide robot 3 toask the visitor a requirement in advance or to conduct simple guidance.For example, it is possible to cause the guide robot 3 to ask a visitorwho has been waiting for a long time or a visitor who is estimated tohave a long waiting time about a requirement or the like in advance, orto conduct simple guidance. Accordingly, after that, it is possible forbusiness people (for example, a sales person) to efficiently serve thevisitors.

As described above, the control server 4 according to the presentembodiment is utilized, so as to enable efficiently and smoothly servingthe visitors with use of the guide robot 3, which is a limited one.

OTHER EMBODIMENTS

The invention is not limited to the foregoing embodiments, and variousvariations/changes are possible within the spirit of the invention.

For example, in S8, the description has been given assuming that thestate of the visitor is estimated, based on the image that has beencaptured by the guide robot 3. In one example, the control server 4 maycause a microphone included in the sensor unit 36 of the guide robot 3to acquire voices, and may estimate the state of the visitor, based onthe voices. This enables estimation of the state of the visitor moreaccurately, based on a visitor's self-talk, a conversation between thevisitors, and words that have been uttered by the visitor to the guiderobot 3.

Summary of Embodiments

1. A control device in the above embodiment is a control device (4) thatcontrols a robot (3) capable of self-propelling, the control deviceincluding:

a facility staff member identifying unit (455) configured to identify aposition of a facility staff member in a facility;

a visitor identifying unit (454) configured to identify a position of avisitor in the facility; and a control unit (457) configured to instructthe robot capable of self-propelling to move, wherein

in a case where the control unit determines that the facility staffmember that has been identified by the facility staff member identifyingunit is absent within a predetermined range near the visitor that hasbeen identified by the visitor identifying unit, the control unit causesthe robot to move into the predetermined range.

This enables the guide robot to be dispatched to a visitor with whom nofacility staff member is present nearby, and enables provision of theguide robot that appropriately serves the visitor.

2. In the control device in the above embodiment, the visitoridentifying unit identifies the position of the visitor, based on imagesthat have been acquired from a plurality of imaging apparatuses (11).

This enables identification of the position of the visitor with use ofan image recognition technology.

3. In the control device in the above embodiment, the facility staffmember identifying unit identifies the position of the facility staffmember, based on images that have been acquired from a plurality ofimaging apparatuses.

This enables identification of the position of the facility staff memberwith use of the image recognition technology.

4. In the control device in the above embodiment, the facility staffmember identifying unit identifies the position of the facility staffmember, based on signal intensity of a wireless signal output from atransmitter carried by the facility staff member.

This enables identification of the position of the facility staff memberwith use of a positioning technology of wireless communication or thelike.

5. The control device in the above embodiment further includes

a storage unit (44) configured to store information about a staying timein the facility for every visitor, in which

the control unit causes the robot to move into the predetermined rangenear a visitor having a long staying time out of visitors that have beenidentified by the visitor identifying unit.

This enables dispatching of the guide robot preferentially to thevisitor who has a long staying time and is likely to feel uncomfortable.

6. The control device in the above embodiment further includes

a robot identifying unit configured to identify positions of a pluralityof the robots capable of self-propelling, in which

in a case where the control unit determines that the facility staffmember that has been identified by the facility staff member identifyingunit and the robot are absent within the predetermined range near thevisitor that has been identified by the visitor identifying unit, thecontrol unit causes one of the plurality of the robots to move into thepredetermined range.

This enables prevention of the plurality of robots from moving to nearthe visitor and giving the visitor an intimidating feeling.

7. In the control device in the above embodiment,

the robot includes an imaging unit (34), and

the control unit transmits an instruction for imaging the visitor to therobot that has moved to near the visitor that has been detected by thevisitor identifying unit.

This make it possible to identify the state of the visitor who cannot beseen by the facility staff member.

8. In the control device in the above embodiment,

the robot includes a display unit (331),

the control device further comprises an image acquisition unit (452)configured to acquire an image that has been captured by the imagingunit of the robot, and

in a case where the control unit determines that an amount of a drink ofthe visitor is smaller than a predetermined amount from the image thathas been acquired by the image acquisition unit, the control unit causesthe display unit of the robot to display and notify that it has beendetermined that the amount of drink is smaller than the predeterminedamount.

This makes it possible to encourage the visitor to have more drink.

9. In the control device in the above embodiment, after the robot movesto near the visitor, in a case where the control unit detects that thefacility staff member has moved to near the visitor, the control unitinstructs the robot to move away from near the visitor.

This enables the facility staff member to take over the service for thevisitor from the guide robot.

10. A control method in the above embodiment is a control methodperformed by a control device that controls a robot capable ofself-propelling, the control method including:

identifying a position of a facility staff member;

identifying a position of a visitor; and

instructing the robot capable of self-propelling to move, in which

in the instructing step, in a case where the facility staff member thathas been identified by the identifying step is absent within apredetermined range near the visitor that has been identified by theidentifying step, the robot is instructed to move into the predeterminedrange.

This enables the guide robot to be dispatched to a visitor with whom nofacility staff member is present nearby, and enables provision of theguide robot that appropriately serves the visitor.

11. A robot control system in the above embodiment includes:

a control device of any one of the above embodiments 1 to 9;

an imaging apparatus capable of communicating with the control device;

and the robot capable of communicating with the control device andcapable of self-propelling.

This enables the guide robot to be dispatched to a visitor with whom nofacility staff member is present nearby, and enables provision of theguide robot that appropriately serves the visitor.

What is claimed is:
 1. A control device that controls a robot capable ofself-propelling, the control device comprising: a facility staff memberidentifying unit configured to identify a position of a facility staffmember in a facility; a visitor identifying unit configured to identifya position of a visitor in the facility; and a control unit configuredto instruct the robot capable of self-propelling to move, wherein in acase where the control unit determines that the facility staff memberthat has been identified by the facility staff member identifying unitis absent in a predetermined range near the visitor that has beenidentified by the visitor identifying unit, the control unit causes therobot to move into the predetermined range.
 2. The control deviceaccording to claim 1, wherein the visitor identifying unit identifiesthe position of the visitor, based on images that have been acquiredfrom a plurality of imaging apparatuses.
 3. The control device accordingto claim 1, wherein the facility staff member identifying unitidentifies the position of the facility staff member, based on imagesthat have been acquired from a plurality of imaging apparatuses.
 4. Thecontrol device according to claim 1, wherein the facility staff memberidentifying unit identifies the position of the facility staff memberbased on signal intensity of a wireless signal output from a transmittercarried by the facility staff member.
 5. The control device according toclaim 1, further comprising a storage unit configured to storeinformation about a staying time in the facility for every visitor,wherein the control unit causes the robot to move into the predeterminedrange near a visitor having a long staying time out of the visitors thathave been identified by the visitor identifying unit.
 6. The controldevice according to claim 1, further comprising a robot identifying unitconfigured to identify positions of a plurality of the robots capable ofself-propelling, wherein in a case where the control unit determinesthat the facility staff member that has been identified by the facilitystaff member identifying unit and the robot are absent in thepredetermined range near the visitor that has been identified by thevisitor identifying unit, the control unit causes one of the pluralityof robots to move into the predetermined range.
 7. The control deviceaccording to claim 1, wherein the robot includes an imaging unit, andthe control unit transmits an instruction for imaging the visitor to therobot that has moved to near the visitor that has been detected by thevisitor identifying unit.
 8. The control device according to claim 7,wherein the robot includes a display unit, the control device furthercomprises an image acquisition unit configured to acquire an image thathas been captured by the imaging unit of the robot, and in a case wherethe control unit determines that an amount of a drink of the visitor issmaller than a predetermined amount from the image that has beenacquired by the image acquisition unit, the control unit causes thedisplay unit of the robot to display and notify that it has beendetermined that the amount of the drink is smaller than thepredetermined amount.
 9. The control device according to claim 1,wherein after the robot moves to near the visitor, in a case where thecontrol unit detects that the facility staff member has moved to nearthe visitor, the control unit instructs the robot to move away from nearthe visitor.
 10. A control method performed by a control device thatcontrols a robot capable of self-propelling, the control methodcomprising: identifying a position of a facility staff member;identifying a position of a visitor; and instructing the robot capableof self-propelling to move, wherein in the instructing step, in a casewhere the facility staff member that has been identified by theidentifying step is absent in a predetermined range near the visitorthat has been identified by the identifying step, the robot isinstructed to move into the predetermined range.
 11. A control systemcomprising: the control device according to claim 1; an imagingapparatus capable of communicating with the control device; and a robotcapable of communicating with the control device and capable ofself-propelling.